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When it comes to Kiwi-made viral sensations, we may have a new champion, because DraftFCB, Mini and the SPCA's campaign that put homeless mutts behind the wheel of a modified Mini has been picked up by most of the world's major media outlets, taken the cake as the most shared
video on BBC three days running, with 225,000 shares to Facebook and 7,900 to
Twitter, and ranks as the biggest news event on Campbell Live
in its seven-and-a-half year history.

“We’ve lost track [on the campaign uptake], it’s gone so
incredibly crazy. Pretty much every major news outlet in every country has
covered it,” says executive creative director Regan Grafton.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWAK0J8UhzkThe YouTube footage of “Dogs this smart deserve a home” has fuelled the fire with over 900,000 video views of their
clips and related uploaded videos—and that’s not including the Campbell Live
clip on Monday night, which showed Porter the dog driving reporter Tristram Clayton around
a carting track in Avondale.

In the US the canine racers have featured on the The Letterman
Show, Huffington Post, USA Today, Mashable.com, ABC News, FastCo, in the UK it
appeared in The Daily Telegraph, The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Guardian, BBC,
and over in Oz it made it onto Sunrise, The Age, and NineMSN.

“On the Guardian it’s
the most viewed and talked about all week – it kicked Kate Middleton out of
number one,” says Grafton.

Angela Spain, general manager of PR, said “We hoped it
would be huge, but we never expected it go global in the way it has. We have
had unprecedented interest and enquiries from every corner of the Earth.”

Back home, Kiwi media has also run rampant with New Zealand
Herald, Nightline, Stuff.co.nz and the Herald on Sunday all getting a slice of
the action, not least because of Campbell Live’s coverage. Its teasing out over
a week, from introduction to live-driving, let the story propagate around the
world.

DraftFCB creative Peter Vegas says the Campbell Live shoot possibly
covered Porter’s worst driving session ever (Porter couldn’t quite make the
corner) but that it added to the drama and the comedy factor, with support for his
fumbling paws rolling in from around the globe.

“People have made heroes of
the dogs which is what we were after,” says Vegas.

Besides, not going to script was part of the feel of the project. Special effects weren’t part of the plan," says DraftFCB creative Matt
Williams. “From the get-go we wanted it to be real, with no jiggery-pokery
going on.”

Grafton says it’s not just the New Zealand SPCA that has had
a massive increase in enquiries for dogs. Anecdotally, shelters in the UK and
the US have had interest as well.

“We are hoping it will have halo effect for shelters of dogs
globally,” they said.

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A video campaign to sell milk? In film noir? With slam poetry? Bold - which is precisely why Jonny Kofoed and Assembly didn't back down when creating a campaign for Fonterra's Anchor milk brand. He talks us through the campaign after picking up a Purple Pin for the effort at last year's Best Design Awards.

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Why we like it: Many brands worldwide put out ads and campaigns in light of International Women's Day last week, some with questionable reasoning (looking at you McDonald's). It's great to see inspiration paired with action with this particular campaign, with women able to make a call to a respective leader to ask career questions or get advice about a particular field. With 17 leaders available, including author Joy Cowley and scientist Michelle Dickenson, we hope many Kiwi woman took up the opportunity to chat.

Who's it for: Bags Not by Bcg2 and Go Well Consulting

Why we like it: A campaign that wants to save the world is a good one in our books. The 'Bags Not' campaign encourages Kiwis to say no to plastic bags and supports them to change their single-use habits. Short and sweet and not too preachy, the ad uses celebrities such as artist Dick Frizell and writer and TV presenter, Jaquie Brown to help Kiwi consumers make a behaviour change. However, the proof will be in the pudding to see if Kiwis can cut down on the 1.6 billion single-use plastic bags used each year.

Who’s it for: BNZ by Colenso BBDO

Why we like it: This is the second phase of BNZ’s ‘Bank of You’ and it continues the focus on community and empathy. Featuring different communities in different situations the ad shows banking is more than just suits and spreadsheets. From flower shops to friends, New Zealanders are diverse and so are their interests.